Tampa Bay Rays' Yunel Escobar makes a gesture, after returning to the plate from hitting a solo home run with Los Angeles Angels catcher Hank Conger, left, watching in the fifth inning of a baseball game on Friday, May 16, 2014, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

ANAHEIM – Two walk-off wins in as many nights was too much to ask of the Angels.

Trailing by three runs against Tampa Bay Rays closer Grant Balfour in the ninth inning Friday, the bottom of the Angels’ lineup went quietly into a warm night, sealing a 3-0 loss before the announced crowd of 38,796 at Angel Stadium.

The Angels were shut out for the first time all season in their 40th game.

Balfour retired 8-9-1 hitters Collin Cowgill, Grant Green and Erick Aybar in order. Thursday, Balfour couldn’t record an out in the ninth inning against the same portion of the Angels’ lineup. Mike Trout ultimately ended the comeback win with a three-run home run.

Friday, Balfour was given a chance at redemption and preserved the victory for starter Chris Archer (3-2), logging his eighth save of the season.

The Angels collected just four hits as a team – all singles – against Archer, Balfour and middle relievers Juan Carlos Oviedo, Jake McGee and Joel Peralta.

“Obviously it was a great win (Thursday) night but it didn’t carry over into today,” Angels starter Jered Weaver said. “But what are you going to do? We still have a couple more against these guys. Hopefully we can take (today’s game) and win the series the next time.”

Weaver (4-3) was the hard-luck loser in yet another strong start, allowing two runs in seven innings.

The veteran right-hander extended a modest but impressive streak of six consecutive starts with at least five innings pitched and two or fewer runs allowed. In that time, he’s lowered his ERA from 5.79 to 3.14.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Weaver displayed the best “stuff” he’s had all season.

“It’s probably the best I’ve felt all year as far as being able to command the fastball, strength, and mixing in off-speed,” Weaver said.

Yunel Escobar took advantage of a rare mistake by Weaver in the fifth inning. Ahead in the count 0-2, Weaver laid a cut fastball over the middle of the plate. Escobar smoked it to center field for a solo home run, giving the Rays a 1-0 lead.

In the seventh inning, Evan Longoria walked, stole second base and scored on an RBI single by James Loney to put Tampa Bay ahead 2-0. Weaver got out of the inning on his 105th pitch, a season high.

Five days after volunteering to come out of a start due to fatigue, Weaver said he felt fine from his first pitch to his last.

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“Obviously a leadoff walk is not the way you want to start that inning,” he added.

Michael Kohn relieved Weaver in the eighth and allowed his first run since April 1, ending a streak of 17 scoreless appearances. Kohn walked Desmond Jennings and Wil Myers, and allowed an RBI single to Longoria that provided the final score.

Michael Morin got the final two outs of the eighth inning without incurring further damage. Fernando Salas pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

The Angels had only one legitimate scoring threat.

Trailing 1-0, they loaded the bases in the fifth inning for Albert Pujols. With two outs, John McDonald took ball four on a 3-2 count. McDonald stole second base and Aybar worked a seven-pitch walk of his own. Archer didn’t bother going to a full count to Mike Trout, walking him on just five pitches.

That brought Pujols to the plate with the bases loaded, the Angels’ best chance to break open the game.

Pujols was hitless in seven at-bats prior to Friday but ended that streak with a first-inning single. Archer hadn’t allowed a hit since.

On a 1-0 count, Archer dropped a slider over the plate. Pujols couldn’t do much with the pitch as it trailed away from him, pulling a ground ball to third base -- an easy force play for Evan Longoria. Inning over.

Since the beginning of the month, Pujols is batting .214.

Archer struggled with command, walking five, but allowed only a pair of singles and no runs. He struck out five batters. The performance was vintage Archer, if “vintage” can be applied to a 25-year-old pitcher who showed flashes of brilliance as a rookie a year ago.

“Archer threw a heck of a game,” Weaver said. “I guess he’d been kind of struggling the last couple of starts, but that’s what good pitchers do: they bounce back.”

Archer struggled in his first eight starts of the season – two wins, two losses, four no-decisions and a 5.16 ERA – though bad luck might have had something to do with it. Opponents were hitting .345 on balls in play, an unusually high batting average that suggests some soft hits were finding holes in the defense.